


Of Time And Angels

by Bexyrogers41



Series: Emma's Journey [1]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universes, F/M, Plus Sized Female Character, Possible Romance, Possible smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-03
Updated: 2019-07-29
Packaged: 2019-09-06 00:04:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 16,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16821127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bexyrogers41/pseuds/Bexyrogers41
Summary: Emma West was having the literal day from hell. Losing her job, she didn't think things could get any worse. Then she finds herself somehow in her favourite television show involving a certain Time Lord, no idea if it was real or if she was going crazy. And what if she can't find her way back home?.





	1. Bad News

**Author's Note:**

> I'm already doing a Doctor Who story, but I had an idea for another that I was keen to bring to life.

"What do you mean I'm fired?."

"I'm sorry, Emma. Believe me when I tell you it's nothing to do with your level of workmanship. I've loved having you here, but business hasn't been good for a while now. I have no choice but to close this place. I'm sorry," Lucy sighed, her hand finding mine, squeezing it gently yet firmly, the pain evident in her dark brown eyes.

I just nod, squeezing her hand back, it being impossible to prevent the tears from breaking free, feeling them run down my cheeks, letting her hand go so I can wipe them away with the back of my palms. I end up gathered up in a hug, my own arms wrapping around her waist, closing my eyes, breathing in her all too familiar Chanel no.5 perfume. 

What the hell am I gonna do now?. This was the third job I've had in less then two years. I don't think I could face yet another five or six months searching for a new one ending up let down time and time again. I thought I'd found the job of my dreams at The Book Shack, having always been in love with books and reading. I couldn't believe my luck when I'd been taken on eight months ago.

Deep down, I knew the store was in trouble, business having been slow, very few people walking in and even less buying anything. Guess it just couldn't compete with the online book stores and the much larger book shops. And that hurts just as badly as if I'd lost family. 

"What...what are you going to do once you close this place?," I asked, pulling away from her, accepting the tissue from her, using it to wipe my eyes then giving my nose a good blow.

"That's another thing I need to tell you. I'm, umm, moving to America. I'm gonna live with Glenn and his wife Stacey for a few months," she explained, wiping her own eyes. 

"You...you are?. That's great."

"Well, we haven't seen each other for two years so it'll be good for us. And he rang me last night, told me Stacey is pregnant. So I'm gonna be an auntie."

"Really?. That's fantastic news. You...you will keep in touch though, right?."

"What?. You think I'd forget you that easily?. Who else am I gonna talk to about Doctor Who?. You know my brother can't stand it," she grinned making me snort. 

"I'm sure you could convert him!. When are you planning on going?."

"In a month once I sort my affairs out. I've got a little something for you," she smiled, pulling a box out of her desk drawer which is tied with a dark blue ribbon handing it to me.

I sighed taking it off her, my hand trembling a little, untying the ribbon pulling it off the box, opening it, gasping a little. It's a necklace, the chain silver, a teardrop shaped stone hanging in the centre, a pale orange colour making me think of peaches, it feeling quite heavy when I lift it up.

"Wow, this is...beautiful," I murmured, looking up at her then pulling her into another hug, not able to keep the sob from breaking free, her sobs making my own heavier.

-x-

I don't know why, but I've always found graveyards to be probably the most beautiful places in England. I would often find myself walking through one whenever I was feeling down, the numerous gravestones seeming to be a strange form of comfort for me. I'd lived in the small town of Grantham in Lincolnshire practically my whole life, my parents having moved us here when I was eight. It being a small town meant there was nothing much around besides countryside and a very small town centre. 

My parents both passed away five years ago when I had just turned twenty and I was an only child, my mum unable to have anymore children after me. It was a heart attack that took my dad away. My mum never seemed to recover from losing him, her joining him a year later. The pain of burying your parents so close to each other is something no person should have to go through. 

I'd had them buried together in probably the most beautiful spot underneath a big Oak tree, my dad having always loved them. I would always call it a magic tree cause it never seemed to age much, it having been here my whole life. I would often end up underneath it with a good book, daydreaming mostly about me leaving this town, going on an adventure like all the wonderful adventures the Doctor goes on.

I don't even realise I had fallen asleep until I open my eyes finding it's gone pretty dark, inwardly cursing feeling a few drops fall on me, it suddenly deciding to rain meaning I was gonna get drenched. Just my luck to not have an umbrella with me!.

I get up off the ground, shoving the now pretty worn out copy of Watership down into my bag, starting to walk pretty fast, looking around me. Suddenly, I freeze, getting some kind of weird feeling hitting me, making my stomach heave, my hand moving to my forehead. That's when I see it, frowning, staring at it finding it's a few metres away from where I'm stood in the pouring rain.

"Okay, very funny. It's somebody messing about, right?," I shouted, my eyes not leaving the statue, my hands running through my now soaking wet red locks. 

I just shake my head, looking away from the angel, finding there's still nobody else in the cemetery besides me. I turn back towards the statue instantly crying out finding it's moved, its arm outstretched, its finger pointing at me. 

This can't be possible. Clearly I'm still asleep, this being a dream or should that be nighmare. There's no way this thing can be real and yet it's standing right in front of me. As hard as I try, I can't stop my eyes from closing, the rain dripping down into them making it hard to see. 

When I force my eyes open, it's impossible not to scream, the angel's face contorted and twisted, no longer a normal angel, a few inches away from me making me shake. 

"Don't blink. Don't....don't blink," I whispered, trying to keep my eyes open, keeping eye contact with the angel. 

But I feel myself begin to weaken, the rain making my eyes start to sting. I grit my teeth, wincing, determined not to give up and most of all to wake up from this nightmare. As hard as I try to stop myself, I feel myself give in, my eyes closing, giving into darkness, feeling my body get taken. And I don't find myself waking up at least not in my world anymore.


	2. Smith, West and Jones Part One

Am I dead?. Is this what death is destined to feel like?. Believe me, I'd wondered more then once during my twenty-five years of life on this planet what happens to you once you depart this world. I'd always believed that when you died, you would move onto a place of peace and tranquillity, would be reunited with all the loved ones you lost, that you would spend eternity in their embrace. 

But if that's true, then why am I not seeing myself surrounded by white light, my mind and soul feeling at peace?. Most of all, why am I not seeing my parents?. Wherever the hell I am, it doesn't look or feel like heaven if heaven even exists. Where the hell am I?.

I slowly scramble up off the ground having somehow ended up laid out on my back automatically regretting getting up so fast, my hand moving to my head, feeling everything start to spin a little, my other hand moving to cover my belly, feeling slightly nauseous. 

"Wake up, Emma. This....this is just some crazy, insane dream brought on by my Doctor Who obsessed mind. Any....any second now," I mumbled, forcing my eyes to close, the spinning in my head and my dizziness starting to ease off a little, my hand moving from my stomach to my wrist, pinching myself pretty hard, wincing. 

I slowly open them fully expecting myself to be back underneath that oak tree next to my parents' graves, probably soaked through thanks to the rainstorm. Then I can have a good laugh about my insane brain then head on home, desperately needing a long hot bath and a good book. 

I can't keep in my cry finding I'm still stood in the same spot I'd somehow woken up in, seriously starting to worry that I'd truly lost my damn mind. What other explanation is there for what's happening to me?.

"This cannot be happening," I muttered, my hand moving from my head into my shoulder-length red locks, slowly starting to walk, still no idea where the hell I am.

All I know for certain is that I'm in some sort of garden, quite large looking, seeming to be beautifully kept, the sound of running water hitting my ears finding it comes from a generous sized fish pond a little way away from me. It's still light outside meaning it must be around midday maybe early afternoon, the weather quite warm possibly indicating it was early spring time. 

I spot something laid out on what looks like a wooden bench walking over to it seeing it's a newspaper, picking it up, my eyes automatically finding the date; 12th March 2007 meaning I'd somehow been thrown back ten years if that was really what was happening to me. 

I sink down onto the bench laying the paper out on my knees, staring down at it, feeling myself begin to tremble. What....what if I wasn't losing my mind?. What if all of this was truly happening?. But....but why is it me this was happening to?. Why did that weeping angel suddenly decide to attack me, throw me....God knows where?.

Then it hits me, that I may possibly be stuck here for the rest of my life. I'd never see Lucy again, would never be able to talk to her about how crappy my day has been. I'd never see my home again, never be able to go see my parents' graves again. That's if this was actually real and not some insane dream. 

I look over the rest of the paper, flicking through the pages, finding it's a local paper, London by the looks of it definitely a long way away from my home town of Grantham. Suddenly, my eyes land on something, feeling my blood instantly turn cold. It's a name, something I know all too well being a Doctor Who fan; Harold Saxon. 

"What the hell?," I whispered, starting at it, not wanting to believe I was seeing it, knowing what this could mean, my belief that I was going crazy increasing. 

I dump the paper back where I found it getting up off the bench, looking around for a door leading me out of the garden finding one not far from where I've been sat making my way towards it, walking inside. And I instantly know I'm in a hospital, the neverending white corridors being more then a little familiar. 

I try and keep my head down, attempting not to be noticed by anybody most of all anybody who works here, the hospital seeming pretty busy. The sooner I wake up from this nightmare, the better. Starting to seriously feel like Sam Tyler in Life on Mars, waking up after that accident to find himself in 1973. 

I somehow manage to find an empty room, sneaking into it, shutting the door a little, making my way to the large windows, peering out through the blinds seeing it's starting to rain. I pull on the blinds clearing the view, the rain coming down pretty hard. Only....only it doesn't look exactly normal. 

"No. No, this can't be happening," I muttered, backing away from the window, still staring at the rain, shaking my head. 

It's going up. Somehow the rain is going up not down. Suddenly, there's a flash of lightning and I end up getting thrown to the floor, the whole building shaking violently. I let out a scream, curling up into a ball, the building shaking harder, covering my head with my arms, feeling something hit me, it luckily feeling quite soft. 

Eventually, after a minute or two, the shaking ceases, my body instantly relaxing, dropping my arms from my head. I uncurl myself, slowly getting up, still feeling a little dizzy, finding the things that hit me were pillows and sheets from the hospital bed. 

"Oh my God," I mumbled, walking back over to the windows, staring out at what can only be the moon, the earth far off into the distance. 

And it's absolutely beautiful, exactly as I'd seen it pictured in books and on various tv documentaries and even in the movies. If this is a dream, then I'm finding I want it to continue, not wanting to awaken from it. 

If I'm where I somehow have ended up then I know the one person in this building that can help, making my way quickly out of the room, making my way through the now extremely scared and panicked people, trying to think where he would be. 

I glance behind for a second, ending up smacking into somebody, nearly falling to the floor, turning to look at who I'd collided with, seeing an all too familiar face, still refusing to believe a little that she was somehow now real to me. 

"I'm....I'm sorry. Guess I'm....a little freaked out," I said, smiling weakly, getting a smile back in return. 

"Are you okay?. You look a little pale. I'm Martha. Martha Jones. I work here."

"I'm Emma West. And I....I don't know. Think I feel a little light-headed."

"Come with me. I'm a doctor....well, doctor in training. I could check you over if you want."

I nod starting to walk with her, our arms linked making our way onto one of the smaller wards, her helping me sit down into an empty chair. 

"Can you believe what is happening?. It's real. It's really real," she said, moving over to the window,staring out. 

"Wait, what are you doing?," I cried, leaping up, forgetting all about my dizziness. 

"Look, they're not exactly airtight. If the air was gonna get sucked out, it would've happened straightaway, but it didn't."

"Yeah, you're right. But....how come?."

"Very good point. Brilliant, in fact. What's your names?."


	3. Smith, West and Jones Part Two

It's him. It's actually him. Seeing him stood in front of me as well as Martha is very quickly making me begin to question yet again my sanity and not just due to the situation I've somehow ended up trapped in.

Guess I'd always had a pretty open and out-there mind, had always believed in the supernatural and not just down to all the science fiction I had watched and read about as a kid and into my adult years. The one thing I'd believed above anything else is parallel or alternate universes or earths, that there was more then one reality. What if I truly am not crazy?. What if somehow I'd been transported to another earth, one in which all the Doctor's adventures that I'd gotten lost in throughout my entire life was real and actually happening?.

Looking at the man I'd always thought was just a fictional character, it's very, very hard to believe that he's that once imaginary character and not David Tennant, the actor who'd portrayed him. And he's....amazing, even more handsome then how he'd come across on the television. It's his eyes though that are pulling me in, them looking almost....ancient somehow. I'd never seen eyes quite like his before. And I'm finding myself wanting to end up lost in them forever. 

"Martha."

"And it was Jones, wasn't it?. And....what's your name?."

"Emma. Emma West."

"Well, Martha Jones. Emma West. Question is, how are we still breathing?."

"We can't be," a woman cried who was in the room with us, clearly another nurse or doctor and quite obviously terrified like I imagine everybody else is in this hospital. 

"Obviously we are so don't waste my time. Martha, what have we got?. Is there a balcony on this floor or a veranda?."

"By the patients' lounge, yeah."

"You fancy going out?."

"Okay."

"We might die."

"We might not, though," I smiled, staring at him then moving my eyes to Martha, getting up out of the chair I'd been sitting in, moving next to her. 

"Good. Come on. Not her, she'd hold us up."

-x-

"Wow. This....this is unbelievable. We....We've got air," I grinned, walking onto the balcony, staring out at the surface of the moon, my eyes moving to the earth far off into the distance. 

"But....how does that work?," Martha asked, her moving up next to where I'm stood at the edge. 

"Just be glad that it does," the Doctor said, moving up next to me.

"I've got a party tonight. It's my brother's 21st. My mother's gonna be really....really...."

"Worried," I nodded, letting out a sigh, my mind straying towards my own parents, feeling a tear roll down my cheek, wiping it away with the back of my palm, the thought of never being able to see them again hitting me like a hammer.

"You okay?," the Doctor asked making me look over at him.

"Y...yeah."

"Do you want to go back inside?."

"Hell, no!."

"No way. I mean, we could die any minute, but all the same, it's beautiful," Martha smiled. 

"Do you think?."

"How many people want to go to the moon?. And here we are."

"Standing in the Earth light," I laughed, looking at Martha, my eyes moving back to the Doctor finding he's looking at me a little strangely making my smile drop a little. 

"What do you think happened?."

"What do you think?," the Doctor asked, looking over at Martha. 

"Extraterrestrial. It's got to be. I don't know, a few years ago that would've sounded mad, but these days. That spaceship flying into Big Ben. Christmas. Those Cybermen things. I had a cousin, Adeola. She worked at Canary Wharf. She never came home."

"I'm sorry."

"Me too," I sighed, closing my eyes, remembering exactly what happened to her cousin, seeing her get killed by the Cybermen back in my universe.

"I was there, in the battle. It was..."

"I promise you, Mr. Smith. Emma. We will find a way out. If we can travel to the moon then we can travel back. There's got to be a way."

"It's not Smith. That's not my real name."

"Who are you then?."

"I'm the Doctor."

"Me too, if I ever pass my exams. What is it then, Dr. Smith?."

"Just the Doctor."

"How do you mean, just the Doctor?," Martha asked, watching him pace the balcony, looking around. 

"Just the Doctor."

"Seriously?. People really just call you "the Doctor"?, "I asked, smirking a little, looking over at him. 

"Yeah."

"Well, I'm not. Far as I'm concerned you've got to earn that title," Martha said, looking back out at the moon.

"Well, I'd better make a start then. Let's have a look. There must be some sort of....forcefield," he said having picked something up and thrown it out in front of him, that something having been a stone, it hitting something, making it ripple, blue light coming out briefly. 

"But if that's like a bubble sealing us in, that means this is the only air we've got. What happens when it runs out?."

"How many people are in this hospital?."

"Don't know, a thousand?."

"One thousand people suffocating."

"Why would anyone do that?," I whispered. 

"Heads up. Ask him yourself," the Doctor said, looking up above us, mine and Martha's eyes following his, watching three spaceships fly overhead then land on the surface of the moon, the doors opening, figures stepping out of the crafts. 

"Aliens. That's aliens. Real, proper aliens," Martha said, staring down at the lines of alien figures marching out of the ships. 

"Judoon."

-x-

"Aw, look down there, you've got a little shop. I like a little shop."

"Me too. Can't beat a little shop," I grinned, looking over at the Doctor getting a wide grin in return then peering down at the floor below us seeing the Judoon are now inside the hospital, doing something to the scared patients, clearly cataloguing them, then marking the backs of their hands marking them as human.

"Never mind that. What are Judoon," Martha asked, peering over with me.

"They're like police. Well, police-for-hire. They're more like interplanetary thugs," the Doctor explained. 

"So they brought us to the moon. Must be a valid reason to do so," I shrugged. 

"Neutral territory. According to Galactic Law, they've got no jurisdiction over the Earth so they isolated it. That rain and lightning, that was them using an H2O Scoop."

"What are you on about, Galactic Law?. I mean, where did you get that from?. If they're police, are we under arrest?. Are we trespassing on the moon or something?," Martha asked. 

"Hardly. Why would we get brought up here if we were?," I asked. 

"She's right. But I like that, Martha. No, wish it were that simple. They're making a catelogue, that means they're after something non-human which is very bad news for me," the Doctor whispered, getting hit with a stare from Martha.

"Why?. Oh, you're kidding me?. Don't be ridiculous. Stop looking at me like that."

"Come on then."

"Why are you laughing at me?. Stop it!."

"Sorry, sorry. It's just....oh, I'll explain later," I muttered, getting up off - of my knees, following the Doctor breaking into a run, making our way through the pretty overrun corridors, trying to get away from the Judoon, ending up in a luckily empty room.

"They've reached the third floor. What's that thing?," Martha asked, the Doctor using his sonic screwdriver on a computer which was in the room we'd ended up in.

"Sonic screwdriver."

"Well, if you're not going to answer me properly."

"No, really, it is!. It's a screwdriver and it's....sonic. Look."

"What else have you got?. A Laser spanner?," I smirked. 

"I did, but it was stolen by Emily Pankhurst. Cheeky woman. What's wrong with this computer?. Judoon must have locked it down. Judoon platoon upon the moon. I was just travelling past, I swear, I was just wandering. I wasn't looking for trouble. Honestly, I wasn't. But I noticed these plasma coils around the hospital. The lightning, that's a plasma coil, it's been building up for two days now. So I checked in, I thought something was going on inside. Turns out the plasma coils were the Judoon up above."

"Well, what are they looking for?", Martha asked. 

"Something that looks human, but isn't."

"Like you, apparently."

"Like me, but not me."

"Haven't they got a photo?."

"Might be a shape-changer."

"But.....whatever it is, can't you just leave the Judoon to find it?," I asked.

"If they declare the hospital guilty of harbouring a fugitive, they'll sentence it to execution."

"Oh, that's just great. All of us?."

"Oh, yes. But if I can find this thing first....Oh!. Do you see?. They're thick. Judoon are thick. They are so completely thick, they've wiped the records. Oh, that's clever", he said, throwing his arms up.

"What are they looking for?."

"I don't know. Say, any patient admitted in the past week with unusual symptoms. Maybe there's a backup."

"Just keep working, I'll go and ask Mr. Stoker. He might know."

"I'll come with you," I said, walking out with her, the two of us running down the corridor making our way into what's obviously Mr. Stoker's office. 

And just like what I was already expecting, he was dead. Or dying, a woman knelt over him, draining him of his blood. Suddenly, she stops, getting up, looking at us, the straw still in her mouth, blood on the end, having used it to drink his blood. 

"KILL THEM!."

"RUN!," I yelled, grabbing Martha's hand, both of us running out of the office, running into the Doctor just a little way up the corridor. 

"I've restored the backup."

"We....we found her."

"You did what?. Run!."


	4. Smith, West and Jones Part Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be some slight changes from how things happen in the show, but nothing major as both us and Emma know not to screw with the timelines (look at Flashpoint!). I have something big planned for later on in the story which I'm pretty excited about.

As strange and crazy as it may sound, I feel like I'm living, truly living, for the first time in my life. There was always a part of me that never felt like I really belonged back home even though I had a normal, loving childhood and two wonderful, amazing parents. 

I never really had any friends growing up, the other kids at primary and secondary school always seeming to avoid me. I wasn't exactly bullied as such, but it was impossible to miss the hurtful things other pupils would say about me even when it was said quietly. And over the years, I'd come to believe all those things they said about me were true. 

Guess I'd always felt like an incomplete jigsaw puzzle, like there was a piece of me missing and I would never be able to find it. Think Lucy was the first real friend I had and the first person to look at me like I wasn't some sort of freak or weirdo. To her, I wasn't 'Oddball Emma' or 'Crazy Emma.' 

She had become more then a friend to me. She'd become almost a sister or an aunt, us having developed a bond almost instantly. To think that I might never see her again is making me feel like I'd lost my parents all over again. Don't think anybody could become as precious to me as she had become making me wish she was here with me in this still completely crazy reality I'd ended up thrown into. 

"Crap," I cried, almost ending up on my bottom, us running into a group of Judoon on the next level, coming up the staircase, feeling my hand get grabbed by the Doctor, him pulling me the opposite way, my free hand grabbing onto Martha's.

"Okay, what the hell is that thing?."

"I'll explain later!."

The door to the room we'd ended up in gets slammed shut, the Doctor locking it with his sonic screwdriver, locking out the man in the black leathers and helmet, the same man me and Martha had seen in Stoker's office when he was getting drained of his blood. 

"When I say "now", press the button."

"But I don't know which one," Martha cried. 

"Then find out," he shouted, using his screwdriver on what looks like an x-ray machine, turning it on then pointing it at the door.

"It's okay, Martha. Think I know which one," I said running to her, the door ending up breaking, the helmet-clad man in the doorway about to come in.

"NOW!."

I slam my hand on the green button automatically dropping down, pulling Martha with me, the room being flooded with white light, radiation from the x-ray machine. Then we hear a heavy thud, the man dropping to the floor, clearly dead, us getting slowly back up.

"What did you do?," Martha asked, looking at the Doctor. 

"Increased the radiation by 5,000%. Killed him dead."

"But isn't that gonna kill you?."

"Nah, it's only roentgen radiation. We used to play with roentgen bricks in nursery. It's safe for you to come out. I've absorbed it all. All I need to do is expel it. See, if I concentrate, shift the radiation out of my body and into one spot. Say, my left shoe. Here we go. Here we go. Easy does it. Out, out, out, out, out, out, out....OW, OW, OW, OW!. Itches, itches, itches!. Hold on. Done!."

"You really are completely and utterly bonkers," I laughed having watched him throw his shoe into the bin after expelling the radiation from himself. 

"You're right, I look daft with one shoe. Barefoot on the moon," he said, throwing his other shoe into the bin leaving him barefoot. 

"So what is that thing?," Martha asked, looking at the body on the floor. 

"And where exactly is it from, Planet Zovirax?," I asked.

"It's just a Slab. They're called Slabs. Basic slave drones, you see. Solid leather all the way through. Someone has got one hell of a fetish."

"But it was that woman, Miss...?."

"Finnegan. It was working for her, just like a servant," Martha said.

"My sonic screwdriver."

"She was one of the patients, but...."

"Burnt out my sonic screwdriver."

"She had this straw, like some sort of vampire."

"I love my sonic screwdriver."

"Doctor, forget your screwdriver for one second, please," I yelled, staring at him. 

"Sorry. You called me Doctor."

"Ummm, yeah."

"Anyway!. Miss Finnegan is the alien. She was drinking Mr Stoker's blood," Martha said.

"Funny time to take a snack. You'd think she'd be hiding. Unless....no!. Yes!. That's it!. Wait a minute. YES!. Shape-changer, internal shape-changer!. She wasn't drinking blood, she was assimilating it. If she can assimilate Mr Stoker's blood, mimic the biology, she'll register as human. We've got to find her and show the Judoon. Come on!," he said reaching out and grabbing my hand, pulling me out of the room, Martha following us.

And yet again, I'm wondering why it was my hand he was always grabbing instead of Martha's making me frown a little. But I push it out of my mind, there being more important things to think and worry about right now.

"That's the thing about Slabs. They always travel in pairs."

"What about you?," Martha asked quietly, crouched down just outside the door, the other Slab just a few metres away from us.

"What about me what?."

"Haven't you got backup?. You must have a partner or something."

"Humans!. We're stuck on the moon, running out of air, with Judoon and a bloodsucking criminal, and you're asking personal questions. Come on."

"Rude!," I snorted getting up slowly. 

"I'm still not convinced you're an alien," Martha muttered. 

Suddenly, our pathway gets blocked by a Judoon, its hand shining the detector in the Doctor's face, it glowing red.

"Non-human."

"Oh my God, you really are!."

"And again," the Doctor said, taking up my hand, yanking me down the corridor, the Judoon opening fire on us, just missing us by an inch. 

"That's it, I need to do more exercising," I pant, staggering through the door to the ward a floor down, the Doctor locking it with his screwdriver, starting to feel a little light-headed, my hand moving to my head. 

"They've done this floor. Come on. The Judoon are logical and just a little bit thick. They won't go back to check a floor they've checked already. If we're lucky."

"How much oxygen is there?," Martha asked, crouching down next to one of the nurses who's seeing to one of the patients. 

"Not enough for all these people. We're gonna run out," she explained, giving some oxygen to the patient. 

"How you feeling?. You all right?. Martha?," the Doctor asked, looking at us.

"Running on adrenalin."

"Never better," I said, smiling weakly.

"Welcome to my world."

"What about the Judoon?."

"Great big lung reserves. It won't slow them down. Where's Mr Stoker's office?."

"It's this way," Martha explained, getting up off the floor then moving ahead of us, leading us through to the man's office which is now empty besides Stoker's body. 

"She's gone. She was here, I swear," I sighed, rubbing my temple, tiredness starting to settle in pretty fast. 

"Drained him dry. Every last drop. I was right, she's a Plasmavore."

"What's she doing on Earth?," Martha asked, looking down at him, watching him check the body.

"Hiding, on the run. Like Ronald Biggs in Rio de Janeiro. What's she doing now?. She's still not safe. The Judoon could execute us all. Come on."

"Wait a minute. I'm....I'm sorry," I whispered, kneeling down, closing Mr Stoker's eyes then getting back up, following the Doctor and Martha out of the office. 

"Think, think, think. If I was a wanted Plasmavore surrounded by police, what would I do?. Oh!. She's as clever as me. Almost."

"Find the non-human. Execute."

"Crap, they're coming," I cried, my eyes moving to the swarm of Judoon marching up towards us.

And my eyes move back to the Doctor feeling him grab onto my shoulders gently, trying desperately not to let him see how terrified I am.

"Emma, stay here with Martha. I need time, you've got to hold them up."

"Hold them up?. H...how?."

"Just forgive me for this. It could save a thousand lives and it means nothing. Honestly, nothing."

I frown staring up at him, going to say something getting stopped by his mouth on mine, his hands cupping my cheeks. And I'm too shocked to even want to respond, the kiss ending a few seconds later, him running off, leaving me and Martha alone. 

"That was nothing?. Didn't look like it," Martha said, snapping me out of the daze I'd ended up in.

"What the hell?," I muttered, my fingers moving to my lips, feeling almost like I can still feel his kiss.

Why was it me he kissed and not Martha?. This new reality was officially ten times more complicated!!.


	5. Smith, West and Jones Part Four

Even though I know I should do exactly what the Doctor asked me to do, I'm finding myself yearning to do the opposite, to run right after him knowing exactly where he's gone and what he's planning on doing. This is wrong, the things I'm feeling and experiencing, how fast they seem to be hitting me especially with what's happened to me.

This is not making any sense, why he chose to kiss me instead of Martha and I'm seriously begin to worry about the consequences of that small decision. Knowing what I know from back in my universe, the one thing I don't want to do is screw with the timelines, mess with what's about to happen. It should have been Martha he kissed not me. It shouldn't have happened and yet I'm glad that it did.

But I'm not gonna kid myself into thinking there was anything meaningful in it. I know full well he did it in order to trick Miss Finnegan into believing he was human so she would drink his blood, assimilating it. Then there was the whole Rose thing, him having lost her not that long ago. I doubt very much that he would open his heart or hearts to another person so soon after getting her torn away from him. There was no way I could even compare to her. 

I'd be lying if I said that the thought of that doesn't hurt, that that kiss meant nothing to me like it did to him, that I didn't want him to think of me the same way he did Rose. But I can't afford or allow my heart to end up broken, not like it has so many times in the past. I simply cannot let myself fall in love with him. That kiss cannot happen again, not ever.

"Now, listen, I...I know who you're looking for. She's this woman. She calls herself Finnegan," I said, trying to prevent my voice from shaking, moving in front of Martha, a Judoon stopping in front of me, shining his detector in my face, it glowing red.

"Human. Wait. Non-human trace suspected. Non-human element confirmed. Authorise full scan," it stated, pushing me up against the wall, making me tremble, trying to stop myself from crying out, "What are you?. What are you?."

"I'm human, I....I swear."

"Confirm. Human. Traces of facial contact with non-human. Continue the search. You will need this."

"What's this for?," I asked, looking at the piece of card the Judoon gave me.

"Compensation."

"Oh my God. Are you okay?," Martha asked, her hand moving to my shoulder making me look up at her.

I don't answer her breaking into a run following the Judoon, knowing exactly where they've gone, feeling my heart about ready to burst out of my chest. And I feel like I've just run into an invisible wall, my eyes automatically landing on the Doctor seeing him lying on the floor not moving, Miss Finnegan having just drank his blood. 

"Confirmation, deceased."

"No!. No, he can't be. No, let...let me through, damn it," I cried, trying to push through the Judoon, trying to get to him, failing. 

"Stop. Case closed."

"But it was her. She killed him. She did it. She murdered him."

"Judoon have no authority over human crime."

"But she's not human," Martha said.

"Oh, but I am. I've been catelogued," Miss Finnegan said, holding up her hand.

"No, you're not. You drank his blood, right?. The Doctor's blood," I said, staring at her, Martha grabbing one of the Judoon's detector's, pointing it at her, scanning her.

"Oh, I don't mind. Scan all you like."

"Non-human."

"But....what?."

"Confirm analysis."

"Oh, but there's a mistake, surely. I'm human. I'm as human as they come."

"He gave his life so they'd find you," Martha said.

"Confirm, Plasmavore. Charged with the crime of murdering the child princess of Padrivole Regency Nine."

"Well, she deserved it!. Those pink cheeks and those blonde curls and that simpering voice. She was begging for the bite of a Plasmavore!."

"Then you confess?."

"Confess?. I'm proud of it!. Slab, stop them," Miss Finnegan said, the other Slab moving towards the Judoon getting shot by one of its weapons, it getting turned to ash.

"Verdict, guilty. Sentence, execution."

"Enjoy your victory, Judoon. Because you're gonna burn with me!. Burn in hell!."

I turn away, not wanting to watch the Judoon killing Finnegan, hearing her scream, some sort of alarm beginning to sound, her having done something to the machine in the next room.

"Case closed."

"But what did she mean, burn with me?," Martha asked making me look up at her.

"She's....done something with that machine. What the hell has she done?," I asked, moving to the Doctor, dropping to my knees next to him, watching a Judoon walk up to the machine, scanning it.

"Scans detect lethal acceleration of mono-magnetic pulse."

"Well, do something. Stop it!," Martha shouted.

"Our jurisdiction has ended. Judoon will evacuate."

"What?. You can't just leave it. What's it gonna do?."

"All units withdraw."

"No!. No, you can't. STOP!," I yelled, watching them march out of the room.

"That thing's gonna explode and it's YOUR FAULT!," Martha shouted, running out of the room after them.

"I'm gonna really regret this," I whispered, my eyes moving back to the Doctor, my hands moving to his face, opening his mouth starting to give him mouth-to-mouth, alternating it with compressions to his chest, remembering he has two hearts, "Come on, Doctor. COME ON!."

Suddenly, his eyes fly open, gasping loudly, starting to cough, rolling over from his back to his front, looking over at me, making me smile weakly. And I fall forward, breathing heavily, everything around me beginning to feel like it was a hundred miles away from me knowing I was having difficulty breathing, having used most of what I had left on him.

"The...the scanner. She....did...something."

I just about make out the Doctor getting up, moving to the machine, doing something to it, killing it dead, my eyes slowly closing. Then everything around me goes black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about such a short chapter!!.


	6. A Whole New Adventure

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another kind of small chapter which will lead into Emma's time on the Tardis. I will be skipping Gridlock as I'm not overly keen on the episode and I'm not sure how to fit Emma into the episode.

I know I'm dreaming. I've known from the very second my eyes opened, fully expecting once again that my life was over, the events of the hospital and the moon still fresh in my mind like a wound that has yet to really heal.

I'm running, no idea where I'm going or what exactly I'm trying to escape from, the heavens having decided to open making me shiver, the rain soaking me through to the bone, my hair and clothes sticking to my freezing cold skin. 

And yet, I don't care about the rain, about how cold and wet I am. He's....he's close, I can feel it. I....I have to keep moving, have to get away from him, have to save the only life that matters right now. He can't have her. He can take the last breath from my body so long as he doesn't rip her away from me. 

I don't think I can run anymore, my legs feeling like heavy weights underneath me, my bare feet barely feeling anything they touch due to how cold and wet they are. 

I pant heavily, my back resting up against the wall, my eyes starting to slide closed, forcing them open, knowing that if I allow myself to fall asleep then he would find me, my arms cradling the squirming bundle closer to my chest. 

"Ssshhh," I whispered, hearing her start to whimper, bouncing her a little in my arms, trying to settle her, keep her quiet. 

Suddenly, I feel a hand grab my arm making me cry out, my eyes flying open, breathing fast and heavily. And I find myself not in that alleyway, but in the back of an ambulance, feeling something over my nose and mouth, it being removed. 

"Hey, it's okay."

"D....Doctor?," I cried, my eyes moving around me wildly then landing on Martha seeing she's sat next to the bed I was laid out on. 

"No, it's me. The....the Doctor's gone."

"O....Oh. Where....where are we?."

"Back on Earth. He did it. He saved everyone. They sent the hospital back to Earth, just in time."

"How....how long have I been out for?," I asked quietly, moving up into a sitting position, gladly accepting the plastic cup of water from her, sipping a little. 

"Two hours. You lost a lot of oxygen. Was starting to worry at one point. How are you feeling now?."

"Better. Are....you okay?."

"Still a little freaked out, but I'll survive. You nearly died saving the Doctor's life. You scared me."

I sighed, putting the now empty cup next to me on the bed, looking away from her, looking out of the back of the ambulance, seeing it's still light out, a part of me hoping to see some sign of the Doctor. And it's impossible to prevent my heart from sinking seeing no sign of him, not that I was expecting to, Martha having told me as such. 

I was never going to see him again. What's worse is I never even got to say goodbye. What am I going to do now?. I have nowhere to go not that I'd know exactly where to go. And I still see no way to return to my own universe. Then there was that dream I'd had, it having felt so real; the rain, the cold, the overwhelming feeling of fear, not for myself, but for the child I'd been carrying. 

-x-

Think I'd been wandering the city for hours, still attempting to familiarise myself with the new world I'd ended up thrown into, still no idea where to go or what to do. 

Luckily, London in this world seemed the same as my London, the only difference obviously being the existence of people I'd once thought of as fictional. It wasn't very hard to get kind of lost though, the city being just as overrun as it was back in my universe. 

My mobile phone obviously doesn't work anymore, it being way, way out of range leading me to ditch it, no point in keeping ahold of it anymore. But my money seems to be fine here, making me instantly relieved, needing something to eat and a fresh change of clothing. 

I'd also managed to have a shower having found some facilities not far from where the hospital was. The question now was what next?. The obvious choice was to try and find somewhere to stay for the night, not really fancying sleeping rough. 

I slip my hands into the pockets of my new coat, it being one of the new items of clothing I had bought, the material quite thick, the colour a lovely pale shade of green, my favourite colour. 

I look at my watch seeing it's getting kind of late, just before eight meaning I needed to find a hotel for the night. In the morning, I needed to figure out what to do next knowing I couldn't exactly stay in hotels for the rest of my life. 

I stop dead, my ears picking up a noise, frowning a little, my feet automatically taking me in the direction the noise was coming from, breaking into a run. For some reason, I find I'm smiling, running faster, hardly daring to get my hopes up. 

"He came back," I whispered, my smile growing wider the second my eyes land on the Tardis, it having landed on the outskirts of Regents Park. 

And he's stood just outside the door, his back leaning up against it, watching me as I walk up to him. It's impossible to ignore how fast my heart is beating, it feeling like a drill against my ribcage. It's also impossible to prevent my mind from going to that kiss, remembering how amazing it had been even if it was meaningless on his part. 

"Hello," he said, smiling softly, his hands in his trouser pockets, his brown eyes locking with my blue ones.

"H....hey. I didn't expect to see you again. Thought you'd....left."

"Well, I did. But then I realised that I'd left something behind, that being....you."

"M....me?. How do you mean exactly?."

"Come with me."

I feel my jaw automatically drop, my hand moving to my stomach feeling butterflies flurry there. This was the last thing I'd expected especially after what had transpired between us. The one thing I don't want is for things to be awkward between us. 

But fooling myself and my heart is something I need even less. I still refuse to let myself fall in love with him, something I'm in very real danger of. What I was feeling for him was nothing more then a stupid schoolgirl crush and it's one I would get over, sooner rather then later. 

"But....why me?. I'm nothing special."

"What are you talking about?. You're brilliant. Emma....you probably saved my life up there. You nearly died. I can't promise that something like that won't happen again, but I can promise you I will protect you."

I latch onto my bottom lip, chewing on it, my hand moving to my necklace, holding the stone in my fist, the warmth of it somehow helping me to make a decision. And I smile, walking up to him, letting go of my necklace. 

"Then what are we still doing here, flyboy?," I grinned, the Doctor pushing open the door for me, walking inside the Tardis. 

And my eyes automatically widen, seeing how much different it is on the inside. How it looked back home is nothing compared to how it looks now. It looks and feels almost alive, it being massive, probably about three times bigger then the living room of my flat. 

"Martha?," I cried seeing her stood over by the controls, breaking into a run, throwing my arms around her, feeling her return my hug straight away, "What....what are you doing here?."

"The Doctor came to see me before you, asked me to go with him. I didn't need to convince him to find you. Luckily, I kind of had an idea where you might have been," she smiled, letting me go.

Looks like this might be the start of a whole new adventure!.


	7. The Shakespeare Code Part One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma goes on her first official trip on the Tardis. And she'll be more then a little excited to meet William Shakespeare!.

"But how do you travel in time?. What makes it go?."

"And why is it so damn...rough?," I asked loudly, trying to hold onto the nearest thing I could get my hands on which happens to be the main control station of the Tardis, the ship rocking around like crazy, making me feel more then a little nauseous having always gotten travel sick in the past back home especially on water which is kind of what this feels like. 

"Oh, let's take the fun and the mystery out of everything. Martha, Emma, you don't want to know. It just is and it does. Hold on tight!," the Doctor shouted, busy working the still mysterious controls, choosing to throw his foot up onto the console making me smirk slightly, unable to stop myself. 

And me and Martha both end up on the floor on both our arses, my hand moving to cover my mouth, swallowing a giggle, trying to disguise it as a cough, feeling a little less nauseous, getting up onto my feet, swaying a little again feeling like I was on a very rockety boat on the ocean.

"Blimey!. Do you have to pass a test to fly this thing?," Martha asked, getting helped up by my hand grasping hers, looking just as shakey as I am.

"Yes, and I failed. Now, make the most of it. I promised you both one trip and one trip only. Outside this door....brave new world," he said, moving to the doors to the Tardis, standing with his back to them, looking at us.

"Where are we?."

"When are we?," I grinned, walking over to him fast, unable to make my grin drop, feeling that rush of adrenalin course through my veins, butterflies replacing the waves in my stomach.

"Take a look. After you."

My grin widens the moment I step through the doors, looking out at a strange and unfamiliar place, proving what I already know, that it had worked and we were suddenly someplace completely different to 21st century London and definitely nothing like my own universe. 

"Wow," I whispered, my eyes widening knowing I probably look like either a deer caught in headlights or a gaping fish, staring out at the sight before me, loads of people milling about dressed very, very differently to the three of us.

I was always a huge lover of history particularly medieval times and the reign of the Tudors especially Queen Elizabeth I and obviously her father, Henry VIII. From how the people were dressed and the style of the buildings, it looks to be around the 16th Century meaning we'd travelled back about 500 years. And it's both terrifying and wonderful. 

"Oh, you're kidding me. You're so kidding me. Oh, my God, we did it!. We travelled in time!. Where are we?. No, sorry. Got to get used to this whole new language. When are we?," Martha asked. 

"Mind out," the Doctor said, pulling me and Martha back, just missing a bucket of something being thrown out of a window making me screw my nose up, knowing it was probably somebody's waste products, toilets obviously not being a thing in Tudor England. 

"Somewhere before the invention of the toilet. Sorry about that."

"I've seen worse. I worked the late-night shift, A&E. But are we safe?. I mean, can we move around and stuff?."

"Of course we can. Why do you ask?."

"It's like in the films. You step on a butterfly, you change the future of the human race."

"Best try to avoid butterflies then, Martha," I snorted, patting her shoulder. 

"Anyway, what have butterflies ever done to you?," the Doctor asked, starting to walk, me and Martha following him.

"What if....I don't know. What if I kill my grandfather?," Martha asked. 

"Are you planning to?."

"No."

"Well, then."

"And this is London?," I asked, my eyes darting around me, still taking in everything laid out before me.

"Think so. Round about, um, ooh, 1599."

"Oh, but hold on. Am I all right?. I'm not gonna get carted off as a slave, am I?," Martha asked, making me look at her, automatically feeling a little concerned.

"Why would they do that?."

"Not exactly white, in case you haven't noticed."

"I'm not even human. Just walk about like you own the place. Works for me. Besides, you'd be surprised. Elizabethan England, not so different from your time. Look over there. They've got recycling. A water cooler moment. And Global warming. Oh, yes, and entertainment. Popular entertainment for the masses. If I'm right, we're just down the river by Southwark."

"Southwark?. So that means...?," I asked, starting to grin, feeling my hand get grabbed in the Doctor's, getting pulled along with him, starting to run.

"Oh, yes!. The Globe Theatre."

"Wow, it's beautiful," I whispered, staring up at it, it looking brand new, like it's only been erected a few months. 

"Brand new, just opened. Though, strictly speaking..."

"It's not a globe. It's actually a tetradecagon, 14 sides. What?. I love history," I shrugged, finding I'm being stared at by two pairs of eyes, feeling my face burn a little. 

"Containing....the man himself."

"Whoa, you don't mean....him?. Shakespeare. THE Shakespeare?."

"Shakespeare's in there?," Martha asked.

"Oh, yes. Miss Jones, Miss West, will you both accompany me to the theatre?," the Doctor asked, offering his arms to us.

"Mr Smith, I will," Martha smiled. 

"I'd be honoured, sir," I grinned, slipping my arm through his, Martha taking his other one, the three of us starting to make our way to the theatre. 

"When you get home, you can tell everyone you've seen Shakespeare."

"Then we could get sectioned."

-x-

The inside of the Globe Theatre is even more beautiful then the outside, it being packed with people who are all applauding the cast on the quite large stage, them all bowing. My whole life, I've wanted to see an actual Shakespeare play performed live having always loved his work; the language, the tragedy, the comedy and the characters he so brilliantly created.

Being finally able to do so is even better then I fantasised it would be, us watching one in the actual time of William Shakespeare, one of the true geniuses who ever lived. And to know he's actual here, in this theatre right now is the cherry on a very large cake.

"This is freaking amazing!," I shouted, grinning wildly, applauding just as hard as everyone else is.

"It's worth putting up with the smell. And those are men dressed as women, yeah?," Martha asked. 

"London never changes," the Doctor said, making me snort.

"Where's Shakespeare?. I want to see Shakespeare. Author!. Author!. Do people shout that?. Do they shout "Author"?."

"Looks like they do now!. AUTHOR!," I shouted, joining in with everybody else. 

I automatically clap louder the second I see the man who is obviously Shakespeare walk onto the stage, finding he looks a lot younger then what I was expecting. He also looks absolutely nothing like I always imagined, his face quite handsome. But his eyes are what I would call clever eyes, something I've always picked up in people for some reason. 

"He's a bit different to his portraits," Martha said.

"He's an absolute genius," I smiled widely. 

"He's the genius. The most human human there's ever been. Now, we're gonna hear him speak. Always, he chooses the best words. New, beautiful, brilliant words," the Doctor said, making me glance at him briefly. 

"OH, SHUT YOUR BIG, FAT MOUTHS!."

"Oh, well."

"You should never meet your heroes," Martha muttered. 

"You've got excellent taste, I'll give you that. Oh, that's a wig!. I know what you're all saying, "Love's labours lost, that's a funny ending, isn't it?". It just stops. Will the boys get the girls?. Well, don't get your hose in a tangle. You'll find out soon. Yeah, yeah. All in good time. You don't rush a genius. When?. Tomorrow night. The premier of my brand new play, a sequel, no less. And I call it Love's labours won."

"Oh, this isn't good," I muttered under my breath, knowing there was no such play as Love's labours won, it being the lost play.

Something very bad is beginning to brew and it involves Shakespeare.


	8. The Shakespeare Code Part Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, thanks so much for the overwhelming response to this story!!. I am keeping with how things are in the episode where Shakespeare's attraction to Martha is concerned.

"I'm not an expert, but I've never heard of Love's Labours Won."

"Exactly. The lost play. Doesn't exist, only in rumours."

"Yeah, I've heard that as well. It's always mentioned in lists of his plays, but never ever turns up. My dad always called it 'The Ghost Play," I said, walking in between Martha and the Doctor, the crowd of spectators making their way out of the theatre, the three of us following suit.

"And noone knows why," the Doctor said, his voice sounding pretty grim, more or less how I was feeling.

And it's killing me not wanting to tell him everything, about what's happened to me, where I'm truly from, the knowledge that I know exactly what was going to happen to Shakespeare. As much as I want to tell both him and Martha, I can't, knowing full well from practically ever science fiction based film and tv series I've seen that revealing too much of one person's future is a seriously bad idea. The one thing I don't want to do is a Barry Allen and Flashpoint!.

As to the truth about where I'm really from....well, that on the other hand is an entirely different kettle of fish. Knowing the Doctor has only been able to visit another universe once and that was accidentally, it shouldn't be possible that I'm somehow in one myself. Which raises up the problem of myself ever being able to return to mine. But would I really want to?. 

Going home would mean having to leave him, having to return to nothing much of worth; no job, no family, very few friends, none especially important to me. The only person I'm truly missing is Lucy and she was now living on the other side of the world. Also, I would be losing Martha who is fast becoming the best friend since Lucy. 

I inwardly sigh, my eyes moving away from my two friends, glancing around at the people surrounding us as we walk, trying to ignore the dull pain setting up home in my chest. 

"Have you got a mini-disc or something?. We can tape it, we can flog it. Sell it when we get home, make a mint," Martha said, making me snort, shaking my head."

"No."

"That would be bad."

"Yeah, yeah."

"Disastrous," I smirked, looking over at her, our smiles growing when our eyes meet.

"How come it disappeared in the first place?," Martha asked, her eyes moving to the Doctor. 

"Well...Oh, I was just going to give you a quick little trip in the Tardis, but I suppose we could stay a bit longer."

"Then we could actually meet Mr. Genius," I grinned unable to stop myself from fist bumping the air, getting a few funny looks sent my way.

"Wow, you really love Shakespeare, don't you, Emma?," Martha smirked. 

"S...sorry. That...that won't happen again."

-x-

"Hello!. Excuse me. Not interrupting, am I?. Mr. Shakespeare, isn't it?," the Doctor said, opening the door to the room we were told Shakespeare was currently residing in, seeing him sat at a quite large table, two other men with him, actors who were in the play we saw.

"Oh, no, no, no. Who let you in?. No autographs. No, you can't have yourself sketched with me, and please don't ask where I get my ideas from."

"Well, that's one of my dreams gone up in smoke then," I sighed, unable to stop myself from smiling. 

"Thanks for the interest. Now be a good boy and shove....hey, nonny nonny!. Sit right down here, next to me. You two get sewing on those costumes. Off you go."

"Come on, lads. I think our William has found his new muse."

Even though I don't feel any attraction towards Shakespeare, I can't help but feel a little ounce of envy seeing his obvious instant interest in Martha. I know I'm not exactly a plain Jane, but I'm certainly no way near as beautiful as my friend is. I'd always been fond of my looks, but right now I'm feeling exactly like that plain Jane I never thought I was. 

My still ever present crush on the Doctor wasn't helping either, that memory of our kiss resurfacing all over again. Where's a paper bag when you need one?. Or a damn bottomless pit?!.

"Sweet lady. Such unusual clothes, the same as your friend. So fitted," William said, Martha sitting in the chair next to him.

"Erm, verily, forsooth, egads!," Martha said, making me snort, my hand moving to cover my mouth.

"No, no, don't do that. I'm Sir Doctor of Tardis and these are my companions, Miss Emma West and Miss Martha Jones," the Doctor said, sitting down, showing Shakespeare the psychic paper. 

"Interesting. That bit of paper, it's blank."

"Oh, that's....very clever, that proves it. Absolute genius."

"Hmm."

"No, it says right there, "Sir Doctor, Emma West and Martha Jones." It says so," Martha said, looking at the psychic paper. 

"I say it's blank."

"Psychic paper. Um....long story. Oh, I hate starting from scratch," the Doctor said, putting the psychic paper away in his pocket. 

"Psychic?. I've never heard that before and words are my trade. Who are you exactly?. And who is your raven-haired lady?. More to the point, who is your delicious blackamoor lady?."

"What did you say?," Martha asked, looking a little shocked. 

"Whoops. Isn't that a word we use nowadays?. An Ethiop girl, a swarth, a Queen of Afric?."

"I can't believe I'm hearing this."

"It's political correctness gone mad. Um, Martha and Emma are both from a far off land, Freedonia," the Doctor told him.

"Excuse me. Hold hard a moment. This is abominable behaviour. A new play with no warning. I demand to see a script, Mr. Shakespeare. As Master of the Revels, every new script must be registered at my office and examined by me before it can be performed," a man said, having walked in the room, someone quite obviously of high importance, not looking exactly happy with Shakespeare. 

"Tomorrow morning, first thing, I'll send it round," William said. 

"I don't work to your schedule, you work to mine. The script, now!."

"I can't."

"Then tomorrow's performance is cancelled.'

"It's all go around here, isn't it?," Martha muttered. 

"I'm returning to my office for a banning order. If it's the last thing I do, Love's Labours Won will never be played."

"Charming man," I mumbled watching the man leave. 

"Well then, mystery solved. That's Loves Labours Won over and done with. I thought it might be something, you know, more mysterious," Martha said, taking a sip from a mug of what looks like ale.

We all leap up the instant we hear the screams, running out of the room then down the stairs leading us outside the hotel, hearing a woman crying out for help. And we see Mr. Lynley, the same man who'd come into Shakespeare's room demanding the play not be performed staggering about, throwing up water, his hands on his throat. 

"It's that Lynley bloke."

"What's wrong with him?. Leave it to me, I'm a Doctor," the Doctor said, running to help him. 

"So am I. Near enough," Martha said running to him, her and the Doctor grabbing Lynley's arms, trying to steady him.

But it's too late, this much I know already, him falling to the ground, not breathing, Martha automatically dropping to her knees, checking his heart. 

"Can't get the heart going. Mr. Lynley!. Come on. Can you hear me?. You're gonna be alright."

"No....no, he's not," I said sadly, shaking my head, watching water pour out of his mouth. 

"What the hell is that?."

"It looks like he drowned. His lungs are full of water."

"She's right. I've never seen a death like it. I don't know, like a blow to the heart. A visible blow," the Doctor said, checking his body, his attention then moving to the maid from the hotel, "Good mistress, this poor fellow has died from a sudden imbalance of the humours. A natural, if unfortunate, demise. Call the constable, have him taken away."

"Yes, sir."

"I'll do it, ma'am."

"Why are you telling them that?," Martha asked, looking at the Doctor. 

"This lot have still got one foot in the Dark ages. If I tell them the truth, they'll panic and think it was witchcraft."

"Okay, what was it then?."

"Witchcraft."


	9. The Shakespeare Code Part Three

I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't a little freaked out by what I saw, by what we all saw. Death isn't usually something I come face to face with on a daily basis, the only kind I ever saw being fictional and acted out on my television back home normally involving enormous amounts of fake blood. And even though I'd lost both my parents, at least neither of them were murdered in cold blood and especially not by a so-called witch. 

It was impossible not to feel pity as well as pain for Mr. Lynley even though he had been kind of a jerk. As unpleasant as he had seemed, he didn't deserve what had happened to him and in such a gruesome way as well. It had happened well over an hour ago now and yet I can still see the moment of his death flash before my eyes, him staggering around, water pouring out of his mouth. And it was getting very, very hard to hide how terrified I was still feeling from the Doctor and Martha as well as Shakespeare. Knowing who was responsible is only making things worse, that urge to spill everything to the man I'm finding myself falling for in spite of myself being almost unbearable. 

"I got you a room, Sir Doctor. You, Miss West and Miss Jones are just across the landing."

"Poor Lynley. So many strange events. Not least of all, this land of Freedonia where a woman can be a doctor," William said, us having gone back inside the hotel, going back into the same room we were in before, him staring at Martha. 

"Where a woman can be what she likes," Martha said, staring him down a little making me smile slightly. 

"And you, Sir Doctor. How can a man so young have eyes so old?."

"I do a lot of reading," the Doctor answered, looking at him, their eyes meeting. 

"A trite reply, yeah?. That's what I do. And you....you look at him like you're surprised he exists. He's as much of a puzzle to you as he is to me."

I avert my eyes, staring down at the floor, still feeling Shakespeare's eyes on me, knowing he was completely right. This whole situation I'm trapped in feels even more like one gigantic rubix cube, one that's even more impossible to solve. And the reality that I could be stuck here forever is only getting more harder to contemplate. 

"I think we should say goodnight. You coming, Emma?," Martha asked, making me look up at her.

"Hmm?. Y...yeah, in a bit," I nodded, watching her walk out of the room leaving me with the Doctor and William.

"I must to work. I have a play to complete. I'll get my answers tomorrow, Doctor, and I'll discover more about you and why this constant performance of yours."

"All the world's a stage."

"Hmm. I might use that."

"You should do," I smiled. 

"Good night, Doctor. Emma."

"Good night."

"Nighty-night, Shakespeare," the Doctor smiled, us walking out, leaving him alone, heading into the room we'd been given to share with Martha, it looking pretty basic and bare, not much besides a bed, a dresser along with a rickety looking chair. 

"It's not exactly five star, is it?," Martha said watching us walking in, her stood near the window holding a lit candle. 

"Oh, it'll do. I've seen worse."

"I haven't even got a toothbrush."

"Oh, me neither," I said moving to the bed which looks just about big enough for the three of us even if we're going to be a little too close to the other person, my hand dropping to feel the mattress, it feeling pretty hard. 

"Ooh, um....contains Venusian spearmint," the Doctor said, handing us both a weird looking toothbrush. 

"So, who's going where?. I mean, there's only one bed," Martha asked, making me swallow hard, the prospect of being close to the Doctor making butterflies flare up in my stomach. 

"Umm, I....I can sleep in the chair. There's no point in all of us being scrunched up together," I shrugged, taking my coat off throwing it onto a table on the other side of the room.

"Nah, don't be daft. We'll manage. Come on," he said jumping onto the bed, stretching his legs out. 

"So, magic and stuff. That's a surprise. It's all a bit Harry Potter," Martha laughed softly. 

"Wait till you read book seven. Oh, I cried!."

"But is it real, though?. I mean, witches, black magic and all that, it's real?."

"Course it isn't!."

"Well, how are we supposed to know?. I've only just started to believe in time travel. Give me a break."

"Looks like witchcraft, but it isn't. It can't be. Are you both gonna stand there all night?."

I move to the bed, sitting on the edge then moving onto it on my back, trying to ignore how incredibly close I was to the Doctor right now, Martha laying down on the other side of him.

"Sorry, there's not much....much room," I mumbled, resting my hands on my stomach, looking over at him, our eyes meeting and locking, feeling myself fall into those extraordinary eyes all over again.

"There's such a thing as psychic energy, but a human couldn't channel it like that. Not without a generator the size of Taunton, and I think we would have spotted that. No. There's something I'm missing, Emma. Something really close. It's staring me right in the face and I can't see it. Rose would know."

It's impossible not to feel that painful stab in my heart hearing him mention her name knowing how much he cared for her, maybe even loved. I shouldn't feel jealous, but I can't help but feel that emotion, something I'd never felt before in my life. The way he seems to be looking at me right now is only making it worse coupled with how close we are.

"A friend of mine, Rose, right now she'd say exactly the right thing. Still, can't be helped. You and Martha are novices, never mind. I'll take you back home tomorrow."

I just nod, forcing my eyes away from him, staring up at the ceiling hearing Martha mutter something, her not exactly sounding happy, the light getting extinguished, the room going dark making me glad he never saw the tear running down my cheek.

-x-

The scream makes me jolt awake, a little surprised I'd actually managed to get some sleep, jumping up off the bed, running out of the room, following the Doctor, the cry coming from Shakespeare's room. Just like I was expecting, Shakespeare is fast asleep at his desk, his head down on the piece of paper he'd been writing on, the body of the maid who'd dealt with us before on the floor, obviously dead. 

"What?. What was that?," William groaned, waking up the moment we ran in.

"Her heart gave out. She died of fright," the Doctor said, checking the body.

"Doctor?," Martha said, staring out of the window. 

"What did you see?."

"A witch."

-x-

"Oh, sweet Dolly Bailey. She sat out three bouts of the plague in this place. We all ran like rats. But what could have scared her so?. She had such enormous spirit," Shakespeare said, the three of us in his room, the events of the night still fresh in our minds. 

"Rage, rage, against the dying of the light."

"I might use that."

"You can't, sorry. It's somebody else's," I mumbled, sighing heavily, rubbing my still slightly weary eyes, having gotten very little sleep, Dolly's death mixed with my ever increasing feelings for the Doctor keeping me from being able to fall asleep properly. 

"But the thing is, Lynley drowned on dry land, Dolly died of fright and they were both connected to you," Martha said, looking at Shakespeare.

"You're accusing me?."

"No, but I saw a witch, big as you like, flying, cackling away and you've written about witches."

"I have?. When was that?."

"Not....not quite yet," the Doctor mumbled, looking at her. 

"Peter Streete spoke of witches," William said. 

"Who's Peter Streete?," Martha asked, beating me to it.

"Our builder. He sketched the plans for the Globe."

"The architect?. Hold on. The architect. The architect!. The Globe!. Come on!," the Doctor shouted, knowing automatically where to head to next. 

-x-

"Columns there, right, and 14 sides. I've always wondered, but I've never asked. Tell me, Will, why 14 sides?."

"It was the shape Peter Streete thought best, that's all. He said it carried the sound well."

"14?. Why does that ring a bell?. 14?."

"Well, there's 14 lines in a sonnet," I answered, shoving my hands in the pockets of my coat.

"So there is. Good point. Words and shapes following the same design. 14 lines, 14 sides, 14 facets....my head!. Tetradecagon, think, think, think!. Words, letters, numbers, lines!."

"This is just a theatre!," William said.

"Oh, yeah, but a theatre's magic, isn't it?. You should know. You stand on this stage, say the right words with the right emphasis at the right time. Oh, you can make men weep or cry with joy. Change them. You can change peoples' minds just with words in this place. And if you exaggerate that...."

"It's like your police box. Small, wooden box with all that power inside."

"Oh!. Oh, Martha Jones, I like you. Tell you what, Peter Streete would know. Can I talk to him?."

"You won't get an answer. A month after finishing this place, he lost his mind," William explained. 

"Why, what happened?," I asked, looking over at him.

"He started raving about witches, hearing voices, babbling. His mind was addled."

"Where is he now?," the Doctor asked. 

"Bedlam."

"What's Bedlam?," Martha asked. 

"Bethlam hospital, the madhouse."

"We gotta go there, right now. Come on," the Doctor said, turning and starting to walk. 

"Wait, I'm coming with you. I want to witness this at first hand."


	10. The Shakespeare Code Part Four

"So, tell me of Freedonia, where women can be doctors, writers, actors."

"This country is ruled by a woman," Martha answered, walking alongside William, the four of us leaving the theatre, heading in the direction of the madhouse where Peter Streete was currently losing what was left of his sanity in.

"Ah, she's royal, that's God's business. Though you are a royal beauty."

"Whoa, nelly!. I know for a fact you've got a wife in the country."

"But, Martha, this is town."

"Umm, guys, we've got more important things to do right now then flirt," I said, stopping and looking back at them, unable to keep the smirk off my face, winking at Martha. 

"Like she said!. We can all have a good flirt later!," the Doctor said, looking back at them.

"Is that a promise, Doctor?," William asked, staring at him, smiling slightly. 

"Oh, 57 academics just punched the air. Now, move!."

-x-

"Okay....I hate this place," I muttered, walking next to Martha, my hand instinctively reaching out for hers, feeling it get grasped gently yet firmly. 

I never liked hospitals, always suffering from a tiny fear of blood as well as death in general, Lynley's death still lingering at the back of my mind. And after ending up on the moon in one, nearly dying for the second time, my fear had increased a little or should that be a lot.

This place was obviously completely different to a normal hospital and yet it feels exactly the same. With every step I take into this place, I feel my anxiety levels increase coupled with my fear making me want to just turn around and run.

"Does my lord Doctor wish some entertainment while he waits?. I can whip these madmen. They'll put on a good show for you. Bandog and Bedlam," the man said, clearly a guard, leading us into the hospital, the sounds of people in pain making me feel worse and worse with each passing second. 

"No, I don't," the Doctor said, not sounding exactly happy. 

"Well, wait here, my lords, while I, uh....make him decent for the ladies."

"So this is what you call a hospital, yeah?. Where the patients are whipped to entertain the gentry?," Martha asked, looking at Shakespeare. 

"It's barbaric. And you stuck your friend in here?. Nice," I scoffed, crossing my arms over my stomach, glaring at him a little. 

"Oh, it's all so different in Freedonia."

"But you're clever!. Do you honestly think this place is any good?," Martha asked, sounding just as upset as I'm feeling. 

"I've been mad, I've lost my mind. Fear of this place set me right again. Serves its purpose."

"Mad in what way?."

"You lost your son," the Doctor said, looking at him.

"My only boy. The Black Death took him. I wasn't even there."

"I....I'm sorry," I sighed, feeling automatically bad for being mad at him.

"Me too. I didn't know," Martha said.

"Made me question everything. The futility of this fleeting existence, to be or not to be. Oh, that's quite good," William said, making me smile weakly. 

"You should write that down," the Doctor smiled. 

"Hmm, maybe not. A bit pretentious?."

"This way, my lord."

We get led further down the corridor ending up at the furthest cell along, seeing a man sat in it, his head down, clearly in a pretty bad way. And I feel my already shaky heart sink, this man, Peter Streete, having once been brilliant reduced to an almost empty shell, probably nothing left of the man he once was.

"They can be dangerous, my lord. Don't know their own strength."

"I think it helps if you don't whip them. Now, get out!," the Doctor said angrily, the guard leaving us alone having opened the cell door, letting us inside, "Peter. Peter Streete."

"He's the same as he was. You'll get nothing out of him," William said, a little sadly. 

"Peter. Peter, I'm the Doctor. Go into the past. One year ago. Let your mind go back. Back to when everything was fine and shiny. Everything that happened in this year since happened to somebody else. It's just a story. A winter's tale. Let go. That's it. That's it. Just let go. Tell me the story, Peter. Tell me about the witches."

"Witches spoke to Peter. In the night, they whispered, they whispered....Got Peter to build the Globe to their design, their design!. The 14 walls. Always 14. When the work was done....They snapped poor Peter's wits."

"Well, where did Peter see the witches?. Where in the city?. Peter, tell me. You've got to tell me. Where were they?," the Doctor asked, looking down at Peter. 

"All Hallows Street."

"Too many words."

"Oh, my God," I cried, automatically backing away, seeing the woman suddenly appear in the room, her quite obviously a witch. 

"What the hell?," Martha cried. 

"Just one touch of the heart."

"NO!."

"NO!," I screamed at the same time as the Doctor, the witch bending down and touching Peter's heart, draining the life out of him in an instant. 

"A witch!. I'm seeing a witch," William said, pointing at her.

"Now, who would be next, hmm?. Just one touch. Oh, I'll stop your frantic hearts. Poor, fragile mortals."

"Let us out. LET US OUT!," Martha yelled, shaking the cell bars.

"That's not going to work. The whole building's shouting that," the Doctor said, not looking back at her. 

"And who would die first, hmm?."

"Well, if you're looking for volunteers."

"No, you can't," I cried. 

"Doctor, can you stop her?," William asked. 

"No mortal has power over me."

"No, but there's a power in words. If I can find the right one, if I can just know you," the Doctor explained, staring at the witch. 

"None on Earth has knowledge of us."

"Well, it's a good thing I'm here. Now, think, think, think. Humanoid, female, who uses shapes and words to channel energy...AH,14!. That's it, 14!. The 14 stars of the Rexel planetary configuration. Creature, I name you, Carrionite!," he cried, the witch letting out a shriek, her form vanishing. 

"What did you do?," Martha asked. 

"I named her. The power of a name. That's old magic."

"But there's no such thing as magic."

"Well, it's a different sort of magic. You lot, you chose mathematics. Given the right string of numbers, the right equation, you can split the atom. The Carrionites use words instead."

"Use them for what?," Shakespeare asked. 

"The end of the world."

-x-

"The Carrionites disappeared way back at the dawn of the universe. Nobody was sure if they were real or legend."

"Well, I'm going for real," Shakespeare said, us having returned to his room back at the hotel.

"But what do they want?," Martha asked. 

"A new empire on Earth. A world of bones and blood and witchcraft."

"But how?."

"I'm looking at the man with the words."

"Me?. But I've done nothing."

"Really?. What were you doing last night, Will?. When that Carrionite was in the room?," I asked, looking at him.

"Finishing the play. "

"What exactly happens at the end?."

"The boys get the girls, they have a bit of a dance. It's all as funny and thought-provoking as usual. Except those last few lines. Funny thing is, I don't actually remember writing them."

"That's it!. They used you. They gave you the final words. Like a spell, like a code. Love's labours won, it's a weapon!. The right combination of words spoken in the right place with the shape of the Globe as an energy converter. The play is the thing!. And yes, you can have that."

-x-

"All Hallows Street, there it is. Emma, we'll track them down. Martha, you go with Shakespeare, get to the Globe. Whatever you do, stop that play."

"I'll do it. All these years, I've been the cleverest man around. Next to you, I know nothing."

"Well, don't complain," I laughed. 

"I'm not. It's marvellous. Good luck, Doctor."

"Good luck, Shakespeare. Once more unto the breach!."

"I like that!. Wait a minute, that's one of mine!."

"Oh, just shift!."

-x-

"Doctor, what....what's going to happen?. I....I mean, the world didn't end in 1599. Both me and Martha are living proof of that."

"Oh, how to explain the mechanics of the infinite temporal flux?. I know, Back to the future!. It's like Back to the future. Marty McFly goes back and changes history."

"So....so that might actually happen then?. I'll...I'll start fading away, Martha as well."

"You and the entire future of the human race. It ends right now in 1599 if we don't stop it. But which house?."

"Guess that should have been witch house," I said, looking over at the house opposite us, the door having swung open. 

I feel my hand get taken up in the Doctor's, his unexpected warmth making me slightly less terrified, the both of us making our way inside the house, the door closing after us, making our way up the staircase, ending up in what's obviously the witches' main room seeing all manner of strange looking ingredients and objects all around us. 

"I take it we're expected?."

"Oh, I think death has been waiting for you a very long time....Sir Doctor. Emma West. Fascinating. You have no name. Why would a man hide his title in such despair?. Oh, but look. There's still one word with a power that aches."

"The naming won't work on me."

"But your heart grows cold. The north wind blows and carries down the distant....Rose."

"Oh, big mistake. Cause that name keeps me fighting. The Carrionites vanished. Where did you go?," the Doctor asked, his hand still keeping ahold of my own.

"The Eternals found the right word to banish us into deep darkness."

"If that's true, then how did you escape?," I asked, finding my courage growing and my fear lessening a little. 

"New words. New and glittering. From a mind like no other."

"Shakespeare."

"His son perished. The grief of a genius. Grief without measure. Madness enough to allow us entrance."

"How many of you?," the Doctor asked. 

"Just the three. But the play tonight shall restore the rest. Then the human race will be purged as pestilence. And from this world, we will lead the universe back into the old ways of blood and magic," she smirked moving back towards the window. 

"Mmm, busy schedule. But first, you've to get past me."

"Oh, that should be a pleasure. Considering my enemy has such a handsome shape."

"Now, that's one form of magic that's definitely not gonna work on me."

"Oh, we'll see."

"What was that for?. What did you do?," he asked, touching his head, the witch having cut some locks of his hair off when she touched him.

"Souvenir."

"Well, give it back. Well, that's just cheating."

"Behold, Doctor. Men to Carrionites are nothing but puppets," she said, having flown backwards through the window, it having flung open, hovering in mid-air, pulling a doll out of her pocket, wrapping his hair around it.

"Now, you might call that magic, I'd call that a DNA replication module."

"What use is your science now?."

I cry out the instant she stabs the doll with a dagger, watching the Doctor collapse to the floor. And I feel something making my cries louder, my hand moving to my chest, falling onto the floor, the pain excruciating, feeling like my heart was being ripped apart slowly. 

Then everything around me goes dark, the pain in my chest being the last thing I remember, that and the look in the Doctor's eyes.


	11. The Shakespeare Code Part Five

Something feels....different. I don't know exactly how to explain it. It feels almost as if the missing piece from my jigsaw of a life had finally been found and slot into place making me feel complete for the first time. But I should be dead, shouldn't I?.

This being probably the third time I've faced death, I'm yet again expecting to find myself in a place of peace and tranquillity, my parents welcoming me with open arms. If this is what the afterlife is supposed to be like, then I am more then a little disappointed. 

Instead of beautiful white light surrounding me and comforting me, all I see is blackness, darkness, no other sound apart from my heavy breathing. This....this doesn't feel right, not at all, my fear increasing with every second that passes. I don't want to die, not when I'm still so young, still so much ahead of me even if that life is destined to be trapped in this new world. 

Most of all, I don't want to leave the Doctor, not after I've only just found him, not when I'm feeling this overwhelming emotions for him. Leaving him, losing him is making me feel real agony for the first time in my life, that pain being more agonising then the pain I'd felt having to bury my parents.

I don't know how, but I can't deny the depth of the feelings I'd developed for him. Somehow....I'd known the first time he'd grabbed my hand. But it sounds and feels so ridiculous, like something out of all those fairytales I'd read as a child growing up. It only feels worse to deny how I feel about him. I love him, that realisation making it impossible to keep in the sob building up fast inside me, my fear of the dark place I'd ended up in only making me feel more terrified of my love.

Suddenly, I gasp, feeling something enter my body making me stagger, falling to the ground on my knees, my hand on my chest. It happens again, my hand moving to my throat, the darkness surrounding me seeming to get lighter, feeling myself somehow start to leave this place, the light getting brighter. 

My eyes fly open fast, finding myself on my back on the floor, back in the witches' room, my blue orbs automatically locking with the Doctor's soft brown depths, him knelt next to me. And I roll over onto my side, starting to cough, breathing heavily, feeling his hand on my back.

He'd saved me just like I'd saved him in the hospital on the moon. He'd brought me back from what was no doubt the brink of death. I'm alive. But why am I still feeling somehow....different?.

I get up slowly, feeling him grab my arm, helping me up off the floor, turning round to look at him, finding he's staring at me, the look in his eyes unlike any I'd seen from him. Then he does something I wasn't expecting; he wraps his arms around me, hugging me tightly making it impossible not to hug him back, just about managing to resist breathing in his scent which somehow seems even more intense then before. 

"D...Doctor?," I mumbled, finding he's not letting go of me.

"I....I thought I'd lost you. But....but how?. How can you still be alive, your heart had stopped?. What....are you?."

I pull away from him, frowning, staring at him, backing away a little, shaking my head. 

"What....what do you mean?. Doctor, I'm human."

"No. No, you're somehow more then human. Unless....no....no, that's not possible," he muttered, frowning deeply, his hand going into his pocket, pulling his sonic screwdriver out then moving it out towards me, moving it down then up my body slowly. 

"Doctor, I don't understand. I mean....why wouldn't I be human?. Come on, it's ridiculous," I laughed weakly, watching the blue light scan me.

And my laugh quickly dies out seeing the shocked look on his face, him quickly moving up close to me, his eyes locking with mine, boring into me, making me swallow hard. Then his hands move to my face, cupping my cheeks in his palms, his thumbs running over my cheekbones slowly. 

"You....you're..."

"Doctor!. Emma!. We need to get to the Globe right now. It's Shakespeare," Martha cried, running into the room, making us break apart fast, both of us looking at her.

"I thought I told you to stop that play no matter what," the Doctor said, sounding a little irritated.

"Something went wrong."

"Then we need to get there and fast," I said, running out of the room fast, hearing the Doctor and Martha following me, internally cursing Martha for breaking apart whatever the hell had been going on between us. 

-x-

"Oh, crap," I mumbled, seeing what was happening at the Globe, bright red-orange light flooding out of the roof, swarms of what look like black clouds in a spiral pattern shooting up into the sky.

"Stage door!," the Doctor shouted, the three of us running fast to the theatre, bursting in through the back door, the sounds of terrified people hitting all our ears, "Stop the play!. I think that was it. Yeah, I said stop the play!."

"I hit my head," William groaned, rubbing his head, him sat on a chair, looking up at us as we run in.

"Yeah, don't rub it, you'll go bald. I think that's my cue!."

"The Doctor. He lives. Then watch this world become a blasted heath. They come, they come!."

I automatically move back a little watching creatures fly out of the crystal ball the witch was holding, them soaring up into the sky, feeling my hand get grabbed looking behind me finding it belongs to Martha. 

"Come on, Will, history needs you," the Doctor said loudly. 

"But what can I do?," William shouted. 

"Reverse it!."

"How am I supposed to do that?."

"The shape of the Globe gives words power, but you're the wordsmith. The one true genius, the only man clever enough to do it."

"But what words?. I have none ready."

"You're William Shakespeare."

"But these Carrionite phrases, they need such precision."

"Trust yourself, Will. Like I trust you. You can do this. I have faith in you," I shouted letting Martha's hand go, walking up next to William, grasping his hand. 

"Words of the right sound, the right shape, the right rhythm, words that last forever. That's what you do, Will. You choose perfect words. Do it!. Improvise!," the Doctor shouted. 

"Close up this din of hateful, dire decay, decomposition of your witches' plot!. You thieve my brains, consider me your toy, my doting Doctor tells me I'm not!. Foul Carrionite spectres, cease your show, between the points...."

"7-6-1-3-9-0!."

"7-6-1-3-9-0!. Banished like a tinker's cuss, I say to thee...."

"EXPELLIARMUS!," I shouted, grinning. 

"EXPELLIARMUS!."

"EXPELLIARMUS!. GOOD OLD JK!," the Doctor shouted, grinning wildly. 

"The deep darkness. They are consumed!," the young witch cried, everything starting to get sucked back into the crystal ball she was holding. 

I jump, staggering forward, pieces of paper bursting out through us, getting sucked up as well.

"Love's Labours Won, there it goes," the Doctor said, watching it all fly upwards, the witches all screaming. 

Then suddenly it's all over, everything going calm, no sign of the Carrionites anywhere along with the pages containing the lost play. And the audience slowly begins to clap, clearly thinking it had been a part of the play somehow. 

"They think it was all special effects," Martha gasped. 

"Your effect is special indeed," William said, making me snort.

"Yeah, not your best line, Shakespeare," I smirked. 

-x-

"Good prop store back there!. I'm not sure about this, though. Reminds me of a Sycorax," the Doctor said walking back into the theatre. 

"Sycorax. Nice word. I'll have that off you as well."

"I should be on 10%. How's your head?."

"Still aching."

"Here, I got you this. Neck brace. Wear it for a few days until it's better."

"I don't know, though. You should keep wearing it. It suits you," I grinned, sitting down on the edge of the stage next to Martha. 

"What about the play?," she asked. 

"Gone. I looked all over. Every single copy of Love's Labours Won went up in the sky," the Doctor explained. 

"My lost masterpiece," William said.

"You could write it up again," Martha told him.

"Yeah, better not, Will. There's still power in those words. Maybe it should best stay forgotten."

"Oh, but I've got new ideas. Perhaps it's time I wrote about fathers and sons, in memory of my boy, my precious Hamnet."

"Hamnet?."

"That's him."

"Ham-net?."

"What's wrong with that?."

"Anyway, time we were off. I've got a nice attic in the Tardis where this lot can scream for all eternity. And I've got to take Martha back to Freedonia," the Doctor said making me frown a little wondering why he didn't say me as well.

"You mean travel on through time and space?."

"You what?."

"You're from another world, like the Carrionites. And Martha and Emma are both from the future. It's not hard to work out."

"That's incredible. You are incredible."

"We're alike in many ways, Doctor. Martha, let me say goodbye to you with a new verse. A sonnet for my dark lady. Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?. Thou art more lovely, more temperate..."

"WILL!."

"WILL!."

"Will, you'll never believe it. She's here!. She's turned up!."

"We're the talk of the town. She heard about last night. She wants us to perform it again."

"Who?," Martha asked.

"Her Majesty. She's here!."

"Oh....oh, wow," I muttered, watching Queen Elizabeth walk in, her looking exactly as I always imagined her to look like if a little more stern. 

"Queen Elizabeth I!," the Doctor said, grinning. 

"Doctor!."

"What?."

"My sworn enemy."

"What?."

"Off with his head!."

"WHAT?."

"Never mind what, let's leg it," I shouted, running out of the theatre fast, unable to stop the grin from spreading on my face. 

"What have you done to upset her?," Martha shouted.

"How should I know?. I haven't met her yet!. That's time travel for you. Still I can't wait to find out. That's something to look forward to," the Doctor said, unlocking the Tardis door, the three of us running in, slamming it shut behind us.

And as we depart this place, there's still on question rooted firmly in my mind; what did the Doctor discover about me?.


End file.
